By Barry Koren
A Mercedes is not a Range Rover. Pepsi is not Coke. Most of the time price is not how you choose among competitors. But a lot of people who work in the built environment say that the promotional materials they receive all seem the same. How do you take on an aura and become sought after? How do you get in people’s minds so the important people know who you are? How do you win recognition when there is so much competition and prospects are so rushed? One way is to find a niche and then do what’s necessary to make it work. Here are five key steps:
Go after a specific niche in the market. A niche is a small segment of the market, such as roofing for a specific type of technological facility, or even narrower, diagnosing causes of indoor-air-quality complaints. Adjust the narrowness of the focus so that there are enough prospects to make the pursuit worthwhile.
You find your niche by looking carefully at your clients and past clients, and then prospects, one at a time. Look for a service, or a segment of a service, that you provided to a client, say Henry, which might appeal to others, too. Maybe the reports you do are most valuable to him. Are there others, besides Henry, who might have similar needs?
Proceed as though serving Henry and this niche were your only business. Fine-tune it like Kinko’s Copy Shops or any of the successful franchises. How? By focusing on Henry. Probe him to discover how this service helps him with a root problem or desire. Since Henry chooses among his alternatives, find out whom you have to beat. Make your service bigger or smaller, faster or slower, more traditional or more unusual, higher or lower in price. Keep improving and customizing your offering until a “light” goes on for both you and Henry, and you know that your service delights him.
One that identifies your position in the market and clicks in Henry’s mind. One that gets through to Henry despite all the noise in the market. You find the message by asking questions of Henry to better understand him. Then take a shot at it by saying something like, “We never reduce the quality of our service to make it cheaper.” Whatever the message, if it’s not right change it until it works for you and Henry. Once you have formulated this message, strengthen it by making cosmetic changes, for instance, to naming, pricing, and packaging of the services you offer to Henry.
If Henry thinks about the indoor-air-quality problem that he has and your message about this problem comes to his mind, then you become a valuable resource. And do you think he will start looking elsewhere because your price is a little higher than he anticipated?
Step 4 – Develop a Number of Related Niches and Customize Your Offering for Each
After Henry’s niche add others, but only if they relate to your other niches. Your first niche of roofing reports might lead you to a second niche of providing expert testimony. A new niche needs to give you a strategic advantage such as lowering your costs or having leads from one niche fed into another. You can add other niches by sub-dividing your existing markets, and looking for someone who demands those services. By planning the development of related niches, and dropping niches that don’t fit, you can form an overall strategy.
Don’t take it for granted. You need people and systems that are friendly to Henry and other people who call. Later on, find out for each niche whether the services your clients receive are what you and they expected. If there are surprises, customize again so that your services match client needs.
If you’re the Ford Mustang of your niche, convey that message frequently, year after year, internally as well as externally. The effect is cumulative. Alter and improvise your services, but despite all the changes everywhere, do not change your identity as a Mustang.
Henry will get older and maybe richer. As he becomes too old for your Mustang, you’ll need to focus your message on Henry’s younger sister, and later maybe his son. In each case, you will need to go through the five steps described above and get to know Henry and his friends.
Koren Network helps architects, engineers and contractors build their businesses by focusing on marketing, communications, and management. Executive-level associates, led by architect. Areas of work: . Marketing strategy & planning . Market research . Marketing materials . Marketing management . Web sites & marketing technology . Communications . Public Relations . Direct marketing . Sales & sales management . Relationship building . Training. You can reach him at 877-444-0000 or BarryKoren@KorenNetwork.com
June 1994, Marketer
Copyright 1994, Society for Marketing Professional Services